1981 Chevy K10 Square Body Restoration: The Do-It-Yourself Guide

foreign Chevy square body let's go [Music] so what I'm doing here is uh trying to fabricate a patch panel for this uh this side here as you can see it's pretty Rusty pretty torn up so what I'm going to do is use a contour gauge to uh pull a contour from the other side of the trip here kind of find out where my main pad is right here kind of just get a get an idea where that's going to be so then all I got to do is flip her around and I've got the Contour there as you can see so now and I've already done this I can fabricate my panel to about the same shape there marking out some spots that we're gonna cut out where it's real thin metal Contour to the other side going this direction now I've just got to make this curve curve that way so what we're doing here is fitting this patch so we've got our curve this way which we talked about before so now we need to bend this down into the bottom so I got a line here where we're going to start our Bend and we're going to hammer that out and bend that in we're going to tack this once we get it Formed we might tack it to it or whatever but we're going to lay it over the panel which we will not weld that in place we're going to form this over top of the existing steel to make sure that it's the right contour and then what we're going to do is we'll go back and lay this over and cut the old stuff out tuck it in place so what we're doing is we're going to grind this Earth piece out solid round stock and we're going to try to make a dolly out of this help us make a compound curve [Music] oh we got this thing uh sanded up for stripping her down and what we're finding is not good so somebody put looks like at least a quarter inch thick worth of Bondo in this sucker there isn't even a body line there anymore and we got deep bundle here deep bundle here deep I know that we actually pulled out of here and actually all there was was a dent right here all somebody would have had to done is take a hammer and Dolly to that dent and smooth that out but instead of doing that they filled it full of Bondo that thick and there's actually nothing wrong with the panel other than it needs flattened out so that's uh that's the problem with a lot of people doing body work that maybe don't know maybe they don't ask or research it enough they just fill it full of mud no good oh looks like somebody took a grinder to the uh striping or decals on the side of this thing so now the paint on both sides of this box happens has to be totally stripped out because you can't fill that up with a bunch of fillers no good obviously we got another issue here which is gonna have to be taken apart anyway but you're not supposed to put all your fingers in a gap and this whole thing has got that way on both sides of the fenders on your cowl panel so I don't know what they did there but we got to take this whole thing apart figure out what the gapping issue is [Music] so as you can tell Jason was welding uh some little pin holes in this tailgate where the trim used to go but we're going to eliminate most of the trim on this truck working on a lot of the dings and dents out of the whole body basically so the only pieces of trim that are going to be around on this truck are just the emblems that go on the side here that everything else is going to be filled we've got lots of little dings and everything in the body we got most of the Bondo and everything stripped out of this thing we've instead gunning this stuff getting out some of the little dings and dents smoothing it all out [Music] tried the Harbor Freight stud guns and slide hammers we took them back to Harbor Freight and got our money back because they are garbage we use this bad boy it is the Magna it says Magna pin system it's the motor guard uh stud gun that's from here is a really good one I think you can pick those up for a couple hundred bucks something like that and this is the sledgehammer also motor guard brand this came in a kit bad Judy bone and we're still working on our patch for this spot here get that cut out we also found out these uh bumper brackets are all bent so we're not going to use those obviously and they chain these bad boys together both sides are bent top cities bed rails and a bunch of holes in them that people have drilled in them over the years for bolting stuff down and what have you so Jason went along and welded all those hole shut we also have decided to buy an entire wheel well thing for this side of the truck because this thing is so wrote it out and messed up that it's going to be money ahead just to go ahead and replace this whole side this is another area of the dean's address we're gonna have to hammer dolly that out straighten it all up tops the fenders all over here it's got a big dip in here like something fell on it or somebody jumped on it or something so we might need to heat treat that maybe to shrink the metal we'll see what happens obviously we got the hood off doors and getting everything aligned back to where it's supposed to be it's about where we're at uh what I got here is the hood for the square body uh somebody has welded in a cruddy old patch there and it's actually concaving the hood so what we're gonna have to do is cut that patch out uh put a new patch in the proper way and uh probably heat shrink the hood to get it to uh get strength back in that area so what we got going on here is uh we had a big huge concave in the dent right over this body line here in the hood and uh you can see that we've already started to heat shrink it done it a couple of times it was really bad we brought it up we're just going to do it uh one or two more times and uh and get that back into place and hopefully she looks good so our 1981 Chevy K10 square body project Jason is applying heat to the concave area in the hood here that's going to pull the steel up to the Heat Aaron is getting a cold rag to throw on the hot area now and the rapid cooling of the steel shocks it into place and as you can see we're getting a little bit of improvement every time we do this process probably do it a couple more times until we get it right just hammering out some dents here with a dolly on the back side [Music] checking for smoothness [Music] this is a slapping spoon you can use those in a lot of different applications covers a lot of surface area quite a few imperfections on this Fender including some spots that we have to fill trim holes and different things oh straight how you can grind it down because it looked good it was all planted but you couldn't get it unbent because of the way to that edges [Music] so Jason's grinding out all the welds smoothing up all the imperfections so here we have a larger hole to fill so we cut out a small piece of 18 gauge steel and just trying to shape that to make it fit directly into the hole with a magnet holding that in now Jason's gonna weld up grounded off make it smooth hammering out the flange trying to flatten everything out here we've got a dent in the top of the fender so Jason's applying the studs with the stud welder and then he'll put the slide hammer on them babies and try to bring that out flat we're applying a thin layer of body filler this will all be sanded off and take care of any small imperfections and smooth up the panel the skill and the Precision it takes to get those perfect body lines a lot of people see an old piece of junk that's rusted out we see potential to return something to its Glory the amount of time it took to get this hood back to its original shape would make most people sick with rust in every single corner it's like cancer but we take responsibility to remove it cutting small sections around the rust spots for easy patch placements Jason always triple checking his measurements so he only has to cut once now that the rust has been successfully removed we can continue on with a little bit of fabrication we can make sure it's the perfect fit here Jason use electric shears to make easy work out of making this patch through this process things can look pretty ugly the little bit of time and sweat it'll look like it was never even there now that the patch is in place it's time for Jason to do his welding Magic [Music] after every tack made we use a strong magnet to adjust the patch so it's flush with the door as well as getting a screwdriver underneath the patch so we can pry it around and manipulate it enough to get it to Perfection with the patch job complete it's time to throw in the gloves and move on to the next task when you put the body filler on you want to put it on very thin this is just to get rid of all the imperfections the amount of sanding that goes into this is mind numbing dry guide coat is used to identify surface imperfections such as pinholes in the body filler and deep scratches in primer unlike liquid and aerosol guide coats dry guide coat requires no masking before use and there is no dry time after application it's no easy task getting behind some of those panels so you can get your hammer and Dolly in position to beat out those dings and dents no panel is left untouched you can see the transformation taking place the bodies coming together getting smoothed out and removed and stripped of all of its rust since the rear bedside panel is toast we're going to replace it with a new one to save a whole lot of time and effort we move on to mocking up the new bedside panel and deciding where to cut both pieces for proper panel alignment Jason measures once measures twice measures Thrice measures beyond all measure to make sure this panel is going in the exact place we need it oh yeah it's a Metabo paired with six inch cutting disc these bedside panels are double walled luckily this one's not rusted through the second layer with the panel totally cut we move on to removing all the spot welds in the bedside panel with a Harbor Freight spot weld cutter to identify all the spot welds who will grind the surface area to expose any of the welds in the panel and then move on to drilling out the center of the spot welds through both pieces of sheet metal and create a guide for our spot weld cutter to follow which then cuts the outer layer of Steel be removed he then unbolts the rear lower panel under the bed and bags and tags the bolts meanwhile back at the wrench Jason still struggles with the removal of the bedside panel under further inspection he finds more spot welds and the top of the wheel well it's not always as easy as it looks on TV and not even his lucky screwdriver can bail him out of this one so he pushes on late into the afternoon only to be met with disaster his face says it all as he breaks his spot weld cutter the panel finally removed we grind down and clean up the inner panel using my broken arm I determine the exact calculation of the pattern to be cut out of the new panel using the old panel as a template from old to new the bedside gets cleaned up stripped of any paint and debris so we can weld the new panel in using the proper auto body tools you can never have enough Hammers and dollies or sheet metal fabrication and shaping since the old panel was damaged in removal we straighten it out well enough to get a good pattern transfer onto the new panel we make sure that it fits properly Jason traces it out and gets it ready to cut these electric shears are a great tool to have and great investment for any auto body or fabrication making quick work of cutting out patterns and Sheet Metal it's important after using the shears to make sure all of our panels are straight and flat panel needs to be fit in place and adjusted we use these sheet metal fasteners to hold our panel in place we carefully check all of our panel gaps and most of the time a panel like this is going to need readjusted reshaped and refitted a handful of times to make sure that everything fits properly sometimes we use strong magnets to hold the panel in place unlike Fasteners they are easy to remove and you can pull the panel off quickly to adjust it and fit it back in place here we prepare for the first tack weld the first tackwell determines where the panel will sit so make sure you do it right the first time or you'll end up having to cut your tack weld and starting over welding too much in one spot will warp the panel so make sure you kind of go back and forth with your welds on each side of the pan now that the weld is completed we can go ahead and move the cleanup smoothing it down getting ready for body filler now we have a patch for the front passenger side wheel wheel hitting it clamped in and making the tack weld to get it set in place grinding it down so we can get the perfect fit and remember it will warp the panel if you weld in one spot too long so make sure to alternate now that is a great looking patch let's go to the other side we need to form another patch using a body hammer and a beater back with the difficult curvatures you will need to go back and forth from the truck to the beater bag carefully making adjustments until he gets the perfect fit and is able to tack it in place now that we're close to getting this tacked in there's one thing we had to watch out for we need to put a bolt through this patch Jason has a cool little way of using some gloss enamel paint you go ahead and put it on a towel and you wipe it around where you need it to imprint press the patch against it and voila using a DA sander works great but let's find a better way check out this Ingersoll Rand 315 G straight line air sander makes for easy work [Music] let's watch as Jason finishes up this patch now don't let him fool you this is not an easy job what you see on TV is not what you see in reality we finally got the bed off the 1981 Chevy hay10 square body with over a thousand pounds of mud still caked onto this truck from years of mud bogging we are removing it with chisels and air hoses anything to get all this crap off Williams still healing from his motorcycle crash and his broken wrist takes on the truck one-handed a tow chain connected to the back of the frame was used to get pulled out of the mud and look at how bad this has been rust popping like no other Jason's Patches from the previous episode looking great as ever [Music] moving on to some nasty rust damage in the cab corners Jason slowly removes it surprise surprise more pinholes to fix we'll repeat the process on the driver's side cab corner grinding the new patch for a little bit of an adjustment look at that precision fits like a glove red oxide for rust prevention drilling holes for spot welds final touches before welding Jason is buttoning up the patch alternating welds to prevent warping and cooling down each weld with the compressor leaving a path of Rusty destruction the frame is cracked on both sides which will need to be repaired with only one hand will Has the strength of 20 men demolishing this Rusty bolt and sending it to its grave do not chain your frame rails together unless you want your frame to be bent and cracked using a tried and true technique from our Amigo Arco Jason first grinds down the weld using the edge of the cutting disc before using the sanding disc to speed things up now that the patch is done and smoothed up let's go to the other side using your wife's favorite cookie sheet and Jason's handy dandy welding jacket we cover the gas tank to avoid explosion preparing the driver's side cab corner for removal and replacement Jason is cutting down the cab corner piece to exactly the size we need to make the patch shaping the patch and getting ready to trim out the old cab Corner out with the old in with the new we drill out holes as a guide for the cutter and remove the spot welds [Music] Jason can't dig himself out of this one there's just too much rust so we prize out the rusty steel with his trusty screwdriver with a little encouragement from the cutting wheel Jason extracts the last bit of cancerous metal [Music] don't forget the red oxide primer Jason shapes and fits the driver's side cap corner and repeats the process of welding and smoothing the panel out we are working on the front panel of the bed where it was bent we are using a 4x4 and some clamps to get it overstretched using a torch will heat treat the metal so it will help keep it in place after Cooling we are just a few minutes away from getting this baby put in primer all the patches everything's done just a few low spots we need to fill some body filler in [Music] all the pinholes are getting filled in [Music] foreign ly it did rain and our tarp has a few holes in it so expect a little bit of flash rust in the future [Music] Aaron just scuffing up those nooks and crannies getting ready for primer Jason's still trying to beat out that front panel and get it straight [Music] sanding down body filler and scuffing the entire truck is quite the process [Music] here I have an impact driver I'm trying to remove the handle from the tailgate so I can scuff around inside and get the handle but these screws are giving me a little bit of trouble well looks like you should just give up Aaron [Music] I don't think this is your day Jason's getting the cab all taped up so close to getting the primer straight on we got all the dust we can swept out of the garage and now we're getting ready to fret the metal [Music] foreign [Music] and we gotta make sure that our spray gun is ready to go and clean all right cameraman get that hood on that stand great job when you don't have a paint booth in your shop you turn your shop into a paint booth look at that plastic flow paint booth complete and Jason even made a little hole for his Workstation [Music] when wiping down the metal you have to be very precise to get all the desktop make sure there's nothing left on the rag looks like we're about ready to go [Music] make sure you have plenty of Hose so it's not dragging across your primer through trial and error Jason is attempting to adjust everything so he can get that perfect spray pattern now to me everything looks like it's working out perfect but I think Jason's just not quite happy with what's going on now please take note that the temperature is in triple digits right now it's very hot out oh whoops we're using the wrong reducer Aaron went and bought some stuff that's for 80 degrees plus let's see if that works out Jason is a happy camper now that the cab is all primered we can move on to the hood and all the other parts [Music] it's prepping time again making sure to remove every single particle of dust you can here's a little before and here's a little after [Music] customer Parts primer and Jason's bike parts primer [Music] now it's time to get the hood and fenders put on and get this project pushed to the side the only reason we're putting the panels on right now is so we don't have a bunch of parts just laying around while we're working on other projects and it's very important when you're doing projects like this to organize your nuts and bolts just as we expected we did have a little bit of flash rust but a little bit of sanding took it right off here's Jason grinding down some sharp edges before he starts priming the tailgate [Music] since we purchased the correct product for the right temperatures outside everything has been running smooth [Music] customer plans on Rhino Lining the inside of the bed so no need to primer and that's it for primary let's check everything out looks great Jason did one heck of a job [Music] moving on to the wet sanding process what this does is it creates a smoother finish than dry sanding it removes dust and debris from sandpaper it reduces the risk of scratching and it just makes sanding less messy [Music] here we are ready to spray so got two coats of color on it's nice and white got a runner two here and there but I'm gonna have to sand out before we uh go to clear here's before with just the primer and here's after with the white paint [Music] [Applause] so when you start unmasking make sure you do it nice and slow if you do it too quick it'll rip the paint along with it then you'll just have uneven and Jagged edges make sure the paint is fully dry which usually takes at least 24 hours but it can take longer depending on the type of paint you used after attempting to get the door locks in now they were not fitting so we found some body fillers stuck in there so we're filing it down and that should make the precise fit now we're going to go ahead and start putting the truck back together piece by piece let's go ahead and get at it now it's time to get this Chevy square body cut and buff using only the highest quality mcguiar's mirror glaze this stuff helps remove swirl marks that helps level the paint it helps remove orange peel and it protects the paint and we use Gold Class wax to make it shine [Music] so upon inspection we did find a few runs on the truck so we're going to go ahead and hit it with some wet sanding and then we'll take care of it with some buffing and wax on this panel Jason notices that there were some runs so we're gonna have to go ahead and stop buffing and we'll get to wet sanding that then we'll go ahead and rebuff and get it waxed and make it look like it never happened [Music] foreign [Music] 's doing the final wipe down after waxing and oh wow that thing is shining now that the runs are wet sanded out we'll go ahead and buff the panel again and get it looking good you still have a little bit of wet sanding to do on the other side but it's just about ready to be cut and buffed doing the final wipe down on the driver's side and wow we could not be happier that baby is really shiny all right we're down to the last couple bolts and just adjusting the hood and now let's take a look at our final work wow with all the panel Replacements patches and Body Lines we had to create I think this is looking pretty dang good we do appreciate you coming in and checking out our video don't forget to like And subscribe and let us know what you think of our work all right foreign [Music]

Channel: Iron Horse Garage

Views: 29,277

Keywords: 1981 Chevy K10, Square Body K10, Chevy K10 Restoration, Square Body Restoration, Truck Restoration, Classic Truck Restoration, DIY Truck Restoration, Budget Truck Restoration, 1980s Truck Restoration, Rust Repair, Body Work, Painting, Priming, Buffing, Tools for Truck Restoration, Materials for Truck Restoration, Challenges of Truck Restoration, Final Result of Truck Restoration, Video of Truck Restoration Process, Classic Car Enthusiasts, Rust Repair Videos, Body Work Videos

Id: kvLRLPmdSXE

Length: 30min 26sec (1826 seconds)

Published: Thu Jun 29 2023